ANN Correspondent Kevin "Hognose" O'Brien was kind enough to research and translate the full text of the press release published by Swiss officials in their prohibition against Flash Airlines.... the operator of a Boeing 737 which went down last week off the coast of Egypt and into the Red Sea. We present it here for your edification...

FOCA Prohibited Flash Airlines From Landing

The Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) issued a landing prohibition against the Egyptian aviation firm Flash Airlines in October, 2002. The grounds for that were, deficient condition of its airplanes. In the following, the measures taken by FOCA in connection with Flash Airlines are laid out.

Last Saturday, a machine from the Egyptian aviation business Flash Airlines crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff from Sharm el Sheikh, and all 148 persons on board lost their lives.  On the same day various media approached FOCA with the question of whether the office had ever assessed on Flash Airlines a prohibition on landing in Switzerland. FOCA acknowledged these facts. After that the international media issued various contradictory claims about to the grounds for this prohibition.

In the interests of clarity, FOCA has decided to explain its actions with respect to Flash Airlines and its grounds for these actions.

First, two preliminary remarks must be made.

1. The background concerns two inspections carried out by FOCA in the year 2002, which however concerned only the then-current condition of the machines. From this no conclusions can be drawn about the overall safety level of the business and the condition of the accident machine at the start of its flight. The cause of the crash is still not known.

2. Information about safety inspections on aircraft is confidential. In the present case we are going to waive this rule for the one and only time, in order to set straight misconceptions which have arisen in the public.

Switzerland has participated for many years as a member state in the inspection program of the European Civil Aviation Organization. Within the framework of this program, FOCA inspectors carry out so-called "ramp checks" of foreign aircraft on a spot-check basis. Every year there are about 160. This isn't a thorough inspection, but an overall condition check of the aircraft and a double-check of flight preparations.

Flash Airlines was twice an object of such checks, on April 27th and on October 11th, 2002. The checks took place on two separate aircraft. On April 27th, the inspectors found a series of serious deficiencies. 

Among them the documentation for navigation was not present on board, the reckoning of fuel reserves had not been done in accordance with international standards, and the signage for the emergency exits was, in part, in unusable condition. In addition there were obvious maintenance deficiencies noted in the areas of the landing gear, the engines and the flight controls.

FOCA required, in a written report, that Flash Airlines rectify the deficiencies before the next arrival in Switzerland. When the same deficiencies were apparent on the second inspection, FOCA made any further landings in Switzerland dependent on a certification from the Egyptian authorities, that the airplanes of the firm were in sound condition. Flash Airlines tried a few days later to obtain landing authorization. Because there was no sufficient proof that the deficiencies had been effectively remedied, FOCA refused the authorization.

FOCA informed Flash Airlines and its and foreign authorities as follows:

• On October 16th, 2002, Flash Airlines received written notification, that landing authorization in Switzerland had been withdrawn.
• On October 22nd, the Egyptian aviation authorities were informed.
• FOCA made the report on the inspections of the Flash Airlines airplanes available to the other participating European states in the special database used for that purpose.
• Furthermore, the head of the European inspection program was notified of the landing prohibition via E-Mail on October 16.

Bern, January 5, 2003

Federal Office of Civil Aviation Information
Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Maulbeerstrasse 9, CH-3003 Bern

FMI: http://www.aviation.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en